Netflix announces launch of The Last Word on September 17 Death does not have "the last word"

The German Netflix Original Series The Last Word starring Anke Engelke airs exclusively on Netflix worldwide on September 17th

(Photo Credit: Netflix)

The six-part Netflix Original Series The Last Word stars Anke Engelke and Thorsten Merten

A touching, whilst funny Dramedy that makes you laugh and cry about family, new beginnings and dealing with death and grief

Authors and showrunners: Aron Lehmann and Carlos V. Irmscher

Directed by Aron Lehmann (1-3) and Pola Beck (4-6)

Based on the idea by Thorsten Merten

Produced by PANTALEON Films GmbH, executive producers are Daniel Sonnabend and Dan Maag

Other roles are played by Nina Gummich, Johannes Zeiler, Aaron Hilmer, Claudia Geisler-Bading, Gudrun Ritter and Juri Winkler and many more

Berlin - August 14th 2020 - Death does not have The Last Word! The Last Word tells the story of Karla Fazius (Anke Engelke), a woman who tries to overcome the sudden death of her husband. Longing, fear, anger, speechlessness - Karla doesn't find her own voice until the day of the funeral. There and then she decides to become a eulogist. Together with the owner of a funeral home Andreas Borowski (Thorsten Merten), she assists those dealing with loss and accompanies them on their individual paths to bid their final farewell.

The six-part Dramedy The Last Word by showrunner, author and director Aron Lehmann ("Das schönste Mädchen der Welt", "Die letzte Sau", "Highway to Hellas") airs on September 17th worldwide, exclusively on Netflix. Leading actors are Anke Engelke and Thorsten Merten. Other roles are played by Nina Gummich, Johannes Zeiler, Aaron Hilmer, Claudia Geisler-Bading, Gudrun Ritter and Juri Winkler.

Executive producer Daniel Sonnabend on the development of the series:

"''Subject: death. Target group: everybody.' This slogan was written on a short presentation paper because I realized that every person I discussed this topic with, was able to relate and contribute their own experiences to the conversation. These sorts of stories exist everywhere."

Showrunner, author and director Aron Lehmann:

"Grief is a chaotic process. There is no right or wrong. It's different for every person. In the same way, death rarely comes at the right time. Nor do we suddenly begin to behave appropriately and with dignity when someone dies or we trust. It's quite the opposite. Even in the saddest moments there is comedy in our lives. Even if we don't feel like laughing."

About The Last Word

Death is a bleak matter, but do funerals have to be that way? After 25 years of marriage, the sudden death of her husband causes Karla Fazius's (Anke Engelke) world to fall apart. Unexpectedly, and to the surprise of her family, she finds a new purpose: as a funeral speaker. While on her own journey to regain love for life, she begins to accompany other mourners while making every effort to break each and every rule in the funeral business. Much to the dismay of the funeral director Andreas Borowski (Thorsten Merten). At the same time, she is finding it difficult to overcome her own loss and thereby contributing to the ever-increasing chaos in her family.

The 6 episodes tell different stories of mourning, death and continuing on with life: At times funny, at others sad and always a bit absurd. Because no matter what others say - death does not have the last word!

About PANTALEON Films

PANTALEON Films produces German and English-language theatrical movies, high-end series and TV movies. The production company was founded by Dan Maag, Marco Beckmann and Matthias Schweighöfer in 2010. Amongst its greatest audience successes were What A Man, Schlussmacher, Vaterfreuden, Der geilste Tag and 100 Dinge as well as the series production You are Wanted. PANTALEON Films is a subsidiary of PANTAFLIX AG headquartered in Munich, Berlin and Cologne.

About Netflix

Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with 193 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without adverts or commitments.